Somewhere Down the Road
by Compactor
Summary: On their way to Colorado, Ellie finds a swing.


**A/N: First time I write for The Last of Us and the first time I write Ellie and Joel. Hope I did a good job! Reviews are always appreciated!**

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Summer used to be Ellie's favorite season before she was bitten. She liked the way the sun warmed up her skin, how the breeze was always fresh, the way the days were longer and the nights shorter and how she and Riley always played with the water guns (that until a soldier got them confiscated, ruining their fun)—unlike Boston's winter. With winter, came the snow and the cold, ruthless wind that'd bring goosebumps all over her body. Instead of training outside, like they usually did when the weather was warmed, everyone'd stay inside and climb ropes; and if there was something Ellie didn't consider herself good at, was climbing. It was pointless and months after leaving the Military School, she still couldn't figure out how climbing that _stupid_ rope would make her or any of her classmates a better soldier. After she was bitten, Ellie stopped liking the season as much as she did; it reminded her of the mall and of Riley, the way she the infection took over her body and Ellie had to watch the life leave her eyes, while nothing happened to her. Plus, explaining people why she was wearing a long sleeved shirt on such a warm day became more and more annoying as time passed—Ellie thanked to heavens when autumn finally arrived and she didn't have to find random excuses anymore.

Not even Callus could stand on his paws the whole day, especially not carrying Ellie all the time—often enough, Joel'd give him a damn break and walk by his side, while Callus kept carrying Ellie—and they decided it was time to call it a night. The university was a few hours ahead of the three of them, and if they left at the crack of the dawn, they'd get there before the afternoon ended and the evening took place. Ellie had never been to Colorado, but so far it looked they had a lot of residential neighborhoods back then, and she couldn't help herself but remember how a few weeks ago, Henry and Sam were with them looking for the Fireflies. Their death didn't hurt of stung near as much as Riley's did, but it was still traumatic, something Ellie'd never forget no matter how many months or years passed. Many of the houses had their doors locked and their windows barricaded, but not the one they picked. They searched the whole house and as expected, the supplies were scarce and there wasn't much worthy to take. It seemed like the whole place hadn't seen a person in years—the atmosphere was calm and there wasn't any sign of infected or humans near them, and Ellie suspected that that was what attracted Joel.

There was a fireplace at the house and by its side, enough wood to get through the night, maybe even more than that—winter was coming faster than Joel expected for that time of the year and spending the nights without any source of heat was being tough and, in the least, uncomfortable. Tonight, they had the luxury of getting at least a few hours of sleep without the fear of freezing to death, and while Joel worked his way through starting a fire, as small as it was ("Stupid, _damn_ thing," Joel mumbled under his breath whenever he failed at yet another attempt), Ellie kept exploring the house. It was one of her favorite things to do when Joel wasn't in the mood for talking—finding magazines or those comics she liked, maybe even those small and rectangular thing people used to talk with each other back in the day, ("'S a _cell phone_ , Ellie"He tried to explain, "A _what_?")—but what Ellie found looking through the kitchen window was much more interesting.

"Joel, look!" Ellie ran to the house's backyard and if she had spoken any louder, she'd be yelling—something Joel got used to now, after traveling so many months with her. He knew the girl couldn't help herself, that that was just pure child's excitement taking over her. Leaving the fire for later, Joel ran after her and couldn't believe his eyes: a swing. Ellie was all worked up over a swing, and he couldn't stop his lips from curving, before the slight ghost of a smile faded into nothing again. Neither of them had realized before, but the backyard also had a tree house and a slide, but those didn't catch Ellie's attention. Back when she was younger, Ellie lived in the kids' yard and they had all of that, too, along with some forgotten teddy bears and Lego. She didn't remember playing with them, didn't remember any of the kids playing at all. They were children, but they were busy, never getting to enjoy their childhood. That wasn't any different for Ellie.

"'S getting dark out here," Joel said, but Ellie didn't seem to listen to him. Instead, she made her way to the swing and it wasn't until she was seated that she realized her legs were too short for get any kind of impulse and actually _swing_. Looking up to the rope that connected the swing to the tree, she realized there were two knots, making it higher that it should've been. There was no way Ellie could reach them to untie it and make it proper for her height, "We should head inside; get that fired started 'n food in that stomach of yours."

" _Please_?" They had spent a lot of time together and the more they got closer, the more Ellie learned about him. She was smart, and soon enough, she learned that if she asked the right _way_ , with the right tone, Joel'd do whatever she asked from him. There was a smile on his lips and a chuckle escaping from the back of his throat and then, there it was, he nodded and looked down to the grass, before opening his mouth and starting to talk again.

"Five minutes," Joel didn't say anything, but he noticed her feet couldn't even touch the ground, let alone make the thing work. Ellie was trying, swinging her legs back and forth, but it didn't do much; then, Joel remembered what Henry said that day, when Ellie and Sam were playing with the darts, about kids acting like kids. Her small hands had shot and stabbed more people than he could ever count and her eyes had seen things that no child should ever see. Suddenly, the thought of Ellie acting like the child she was and forgetting the awful things that had happened to her didn't sound like a bad idea; Joel walked behind her, putting himself in a safe enough distance from both Ellie and the swing, "I'll give you one big push, but that's it."

And Joel meant it—he gave Ellie one big push and it was the highest she had ever gone while swinging. Before they knew it, Joel was repeating the move over and over again (the push was lighter this time, he didn't want to send her to space) and her laughter was loud, pleasant, making Joel's heart warmer in a way he hadn't felt in a long time, the cold but pleasant wind blowing against her face. He had no idea what would happen when they finally arrived at the university; when the Fireflies finally took Ellie and did whatever they needed to do to find a cure, but for now, the happiness and lightness that came from Ellie's giggles filled the air was enough to keep the bad dreams and memories away and for Joel, that was all he needed.


End file.
